New platform rewards philanthropy

The non-profit organisation aims to change the philanthropic behaviour of tech-engaged South Africans, making it easy for individual and corporate supporters to discover causes they care about and engage in convenient and impactful volunteering and donating to help non-profits achieve their goals.

Supporters are rewarded with brownie points each time they support a cause through volunteering or donating. Brownie points accumulate as the supporter becomes more active, and can be redeemed at the Brownie Points Rewards Hub for lifestyle items such as coffee, mobile data and retail vouchers. Brownie Points has over 60 rewards from over 25 companies, and is opening up opportunities for local corporates to actively incentivise philanthropic behaviour and gain positive brand exposure.

Verified NPOs

Brownie Points’ partners are verified non-profit organisations (NPOs) who work in a wide range of areas – from early childhood development to animal welfare and recycling. In the first month, Brownie Points has successfully signed on 37 non-profit partners across the country – Ikamva Youth, Learning In Reach, and Thope Foundation, to name a few.

There are over 170,000 non-profit organisations in South Africa, most of whom face huge resource constraints and administration overload, as well as a lack of online presence and network reach. Brownie Points will allow these organisations to access a pool of engaged supporters via an easy-to-use platform with personalised online marketing support from the Brownie Points team.

Building trust, accountability

“Digital technologies are so powerful for making a change and connecting like-minded people. At Brownie Points, we’re interested in leveraging innovation, technology and connections to encourage empathy and action too – creating a stronger culture of philanthropy online and offline. And of course, our focus on impact is key to building trust and accountability amongst our non-profits and their supporters," says Henke.

This focus on impact landed Brownie Points in the top 10 finalists of the Global Impact Competition in April 2016, hosted by Singularity University and Rand Merchant Bank. The team also exhibited at the 2016 Web Summit in Lisbon, Portugal.

For more information, go to www.brownie-points.co.za.